Star Trek 2 Production Has Begun

While we have well over a year to wait, theorize, speculate and obsess over the Star Trek sequel, fans of the franchise and of anything associated with the names Abrams, Orci, Lindelof and/or Kurtzman can rejoice in knowing that production has officially begun for the 3D Star Trek movie.

Paramount made the announcement today, stating that principal photography has commenced in Los Angeles on the Star Trek sequel, which will be directed by J.J. Abrams and is expected to hit theaters on May 17, 2013. Newcomers Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve and Peter Weller join returners John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin in the film. Cumberbatch is rumored to be playing the villain, however that’s still seems unconfirmed at this point.

Per The L.A. Times, the sequel, which follows the 2009 film Star Trek, will be shot in the Los Angeles area, “primarily on a sound stage at Sony Pictures Entertainment, where crews have rebuilt a set for the bridge of the Enterprise spaceship, and various locales around the county.” The site also states that the film is expected to take twelve weeks to shoot.

In addition to directing, Abrams is also among the producers, along with Bryan Burke, as well as the film’s script writers Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci and Damon Lindelof. With production moving forward, hopefully it isn't too optimistic to hope we'll hear some more details about the plot and maybe see a photo or two at some point in the near future.